The amount of work it took to transform Carnival Destiny into Carnival Sunshine is evident to those who had sailed the ship in the past. Initially, they remember what was where before, but quickly those old memories fade, replaced by shiny new venues and features. That’s what past Carnival guests are likely to experience when Carnival Sunshine makes her way to New Orleans this week to sail a series of Caribbean cruises.
What was the aft pool area has been replaced with a water park. The mid-ship pool area hosts Guys Burger Joint, the dueling Red Frog Pub and Blue Iguana Cantina and serves as the nerve center for on deck activity. The forward teen make out deck is gone, replaced by an adults-only serenity area. Of the 25 branded elements of Carnival’s energizing Funship 2.0 initiative, 12 of them are on the top deck. Response from passengers has been so overwhelmingly positive that many are choosing not to go ashore.
We took a look at those venues last summer while Carnival Sunshine was docked in Marseilles with the French countryside as a backdrop.
Carnival Sunshine Waterworks
We begin with Waterworks, an on board water park that features five different slides, 40 interactive water features and a 150-gallon drenching bucket and more.
- Splashzone – a kids water play area with slides just for kids and other kid-friendly features.
- Speedway Splash– dual side-by-side, 235 foot water slides with special lighting effects where racers compete and times are displayed.
- Twister Slide– At 335 feet long, the enclosed Twister slide is Carnival’s longest.
- SportsSquare- is an outdoor recreation area with a full-sized basketball court, a two-level nine-hole mini-golf course, a jogging track, foosball, ping pong, pool tables and more. Also features SeaDogs, a hot dog-shaped cart within the SportSquare offering complimentary all-beef franks and traditional toppings.
- SkyCourseis part of SportsSquare and a ropes course where guests strap into a safety harness and choose from a beginner or intermediate levels
- Youth Program Headquarters – Camp Carnival (ages 2-11), Circle “C” (12-14) and Club O2 (15-17) are youth program venues located appropriately close to SportsSquare
- Guy’s Burger Joint – moving mid-ship we have Guys Burger Joint, developed in tandem with Food Network Star Guy Fieri.
- Blue Iguana Cantina – has authentic tacos and burritos that can be personalized by diners at a limitless salsa and toppings bar- Also a great place for breakfast with custom-made breakfast burritos
- Red Frog Rum Bar is a poolside adaptation of the RedFrog Pub offering the refreshing Caribbean rum-based frozen drinks and beers including (personal favorite) Thirsty Frog Red.
- Blue Iguana Tequila Bar is a poolside watering hole, directly across from the Red Frog Pub offering tequila-based frozen drinks and beers